Chili verde

There's a place in Seattle called Slim's Last Chance. It was featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, and my date on Saturday was telling me how good their chili is. I admitted to him what I had never said out loud before--I don't love chili.

I love the idea of it--something warm, hearty, and eaten out of a bowl. Something that can be personalized with a variety of toppings and spices. Something that you can make ahead and reheat without losing flavor or texture.

But the taste... Eh. I think I dislike the inherent flavors of chili--whatever's in chili powder, I simply don't like.

But oh. All of that changed this weekend.

I was planning on making chili for the Superbowl, because like I said, I love the idea of chili. I have a pretty good red chili recipe and there were a couple adjustments I wanted to try, so I convinced the guys upstairs to host a SB party so I could have an excuse to make chili. I had written out my ingredients list for grocery shopping, made a plan in my head of when/how to prepare the chili.. and then veered off course Saturday morning.

Dangerous territory. When I do new recipes, I take at least an hour to look up different recipes, compare ingredients and compare methods. It's how I make adjustments and variations to make it my mine, and to also take the best elements of each recipes and boil it down to something that's helpful and delicious to me. The best examples of this is are the lemon berry muffins or lemon-scented pull apart bread. I took a couple recipes, picked out flavors I liked and then methods I liked.

I didn't have the time to do that for this chili verde recipe, since the grocery shopping was sandwiched in between a sunny Seattle day outing and babysitting in the evening. As it turns out, the recipe I chose to shop off of was the one that had the least in common with other recipes. Of course.

Grocery shopping for this recipes was the worst. It was mainly due to not being familiar with the ingredients, but also, the recipe I went with used a lot of items that weren't to be found. Canned tomatillos? Nope. Green chile powder? Nope, and what the heck is that anyway. Green chiles? Sure, but "green" is actually not descriptive enough--anaheim, poblano, etc. (Further Googling revealed to me that canned green chiles are, in fact, Anaheim chiles. However, in the produce section, they are labeled as Anaheim). Also, the oz measurements were not similar to anything we found in the store. Oh well. Live and learn.

Follow along.

This is what a tomatillo looks like. We wandered in the produce section for them and finally asked the produce guy for help, and he directed us to where we had been standing not a minute before. So to help you, this is what a tomatillo looks like. Under the husk, it looks like a green tomato. It's sticky between the husk and the skin. It smells funny. We found them next to the chilies at Safeway.

I thought they would look like green tomatoes on the inside. Not true! They remind me of the inside of a dragonfuit.

The tomatillos were sliced in half and placed on a cookie sheets, cut side down. They were broiled until slightly charred, then thrown in a blender.

The Anaheim chiles were cut, seeded, and placed cut side down on a cookie sheets. Once they were charred on the outside, they got thrown into a bowl with a plate over them to trap in the steam and continue cooking them. Very important: they must get charred, otherwise the skin doesn't come off easily. Put some back in the oven if you need to. The peeled chiles were also thrown into the blender, along with lime juice, cilantro and one jalapeno (partially seeded and chopped).

Oh, and bacon. Lots o bacon.

No photo of the finished chili, unfortunately, but it looked basically like green goop. The taste, though, was unlike red chili in every way. Although the recipes called for some spices, I didn't add any. Oregano and a pinch of cloves probably would've been just delicious, but let's be honest--I forgot it. I'll try harder next time! Red chili usually tastes dense with cumin and chili powder. The tomatillos, lime and peppers created a light, fresh flavor for the chili verde, which I loved.

So I take it back. I DO love chili (verde). Next time, I'll add another jalapeno (my chili was not spicy at all), more tomatillos and less Anaheim chiles. The tomatillo/chile change is mainly due to the tomatillos being much easier to prep than the chilies. I might even try skipping the roasting step and just going straight to blend.

In any case, if you're like me and don't like red chili--there's hope.

Chili Verde

Loosely adapted from Food Network and Simply Recipes

1.25 lbs fresh tomatillos

5 cloves garlic

2 lbs Anaheim chiles

Juice of 1 lime

1 bunch cilanto

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

2 yellow onions

3 green bell peppers

4 lbs bacon or pork shoulder

1 32 oz can green enchilada sauce

1 7 oz jar of salsa verde

2 cups water or chicken broth

Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down, along with 5 unpeeled garlic cloves, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin. Remove from oven, let cool enough to handle. Peel garlic and toss into blender along with tomatillos, roasted Anaheim chiles (see below), cilantro, jalapeno and lime juice. Liquefy!

Roasted chilies: Slice chiles in half and seed. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet. Place under broiler for 5-7 minutes under the skin is charred. Quickly transfer the chiles to a container with a lid (plastic Tupperware, bowl with plate over it, etc) or a bag (paper or ziploc); leave for 15 minutes. The steam will continue to cook the chilies and make the skin easier to peel off. Remove the chiles from the container. Peel off the skins and compost.

In a large pot, brown the bacon or pork shoulder (do in batches if necessary). Remove meat from pot with slotted spoon onto paper towel-lined bowl or plate. Pour off all the fat except for one tablespoon. Place onions in pot and cook until limp. Add the green peppers and cook for 2 minutes. Add the meat, tomatillo mixture, green enchilada sauce, salsa verde, and water or broth. Let cook, uncovered, for 2 hours or until it reaches desired consistency.

Serve with standard chili toppings: sour cream, cheese, cilantro, green onions, tortilla chips, etc.